SIMULIA closely collaborated with Exxon to develop advanced general-purpose material models, finite element technology, and computational procedures, including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and particle flow dynamics (PFD), aimed at finding solutions that could be applied in the field.
Over the last decade, the perception of natural gas as the main factor in meeting global energy demand has changed dramatically. For example, in 2000, shale gas accounted for only one percent of natural gas supplies in the U.S. Today, that figure stands at 30 percent and continues to grow. Why? Because innovative solutions developed based on technologies long used by oil and gas companies are now being successfully applied to unconventional resources such as shale. These underground operations are filled with various technical challenges that require a detailed understanding of complex physics. One of the major companies playing a leading role in using modeling to enable such innovations is ExxonMobil.
ExxonMobil was one of the first licensees (in the late 1970s) of Abaqus software in the energy sector. The relationship was not merely commercial—ExxonMobil was also one of the first partners of SIMULIA in developing technologies to model key performance issues in the energy sector. For example, collaboration with ExxonMobil led to the creation of the very first capability for large sliding displacements in Abaqus. This technology was used to enhance pressure-temperature resistance as well as the reliability of pipes and equipment for producing threaded pipes. Bruce Dale, Chief Geoscientist at ExxonMobil, first spoke about over three decades of his company’s collaboration with SIMULIA and its predecessors during a keynote address at the SIMULIA Community Conference in 2010. Shortly after this speech, his team of engineers made a new attempt with SIMULIA to further expand modeling capabilities that would help address many challenges associated with underground shale gas extraction. This collaboration will focus on developing modern general-purpose material models, finite element technology, and computational procedures aimed at determining workable solutions to such problems.
The team consisted of senior engineers from ExxonMobil who worked directly with SIMULIA staff. In particular, Kevin Searles played a significant role in establishing key technical foundations and advising the joint steering committee on development since its inception. Also important was the ongoing guidance from ExxonMobil’s Bill Klein, Jason Burdett, and Erika Bidiger throughout the joint project. (See participant profiles on the side panels.) This year at SCC in Berlin, Dale returned to detail how far the partnership with SIMULIA has progressed and how advanced the resulting capabilities have become over the past five years. In addition to SCC, the ExxonMobil team is implementing these technologies at technical events in the oil and gas industry.
“These joint efforts between ExxonMobil and SIMULIA have led to fundamental improvements in modeling to address key drilling, completion, and production challenges in the oil and gas industry,” said Dale. “Advanced modeling technologies and 3D visualization play an increasingly important role in the success of the energy sector and include modeling capabilities such as finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and particle flow dynamics (PFD).” Dale has been involved in these efforts since the beginning of his career at Exxon in the 1980s, starting with research and development supporting the drilling business and eventually moving into leadership and managerial roles. He is an advocate for new game-changing technologies; and has fostered innovation, creativity, and excellence throughout his 34-year professional career. “In the beginning, I had the opportunity to work with Abaqus, part of the Dassault Systèmes SIMULIA toolset, and it was a great way to apply advanced technologies to model things that in the past we could only test in the lab or in the field,” he said in an interview after his presentation in 2015.
According to Dale, the use of modeling at ExxonMobil has enhanced the company’s competitiveness. “The ability to connect the dots is something you can never fully realize in the lab due to cost, scale, and time,” he said. “In the past, the available time often did not align with the period when decisions needed to be made. Now, the visualization possible through modeling allows you to make interpretations—identifying opportunities or shortcomings—much earlier. This impacts and influences the here and now much more than ever before. Thus, in the extraction business, visualization is a great aid that can bring together people with disparate types of information and data analysis to solve very complex problems.”
In his address at SCC in 2015, Dale spoke about his company’s commitment to the safe and reliable development of natural gas resources. According to him, ExxonMobil has developed best management practices to enhance efficiency while simultaneously reducing overall environmental impact. This includes protecting local groundwater resources, close collaboration with communities and government, and promoting transparency and effective regulation.
Dale explained that extracting natural gas from shale is associated with complex physical processes.
To accurately model the critical factors that can influence the success of these many stages of extraction, ExxonMobil and SIMULIA developed a fully integrated formula for hydrodynamic (hydraulic) fracture growth using two advanced finite element methods: the cohesive zone method (CZM), where the fracture path is constrained to a plane; and the extended finite element method (XFEM), where the fracture path is entirely dependent on the solution. In addition to these advanced finite element methods, extended defining models were also implemented in Abaqus to account for inelastic deformation associated with the types of unique complex failure mechanisms observed in soft rocks.
In all cases, the methodologies were rigorously validated for a wide range of rock and fluid properties, as well as drainage conditions, both in relation to semi-analytical solutions and laboratory experimental results. ExxonMobil developed unique experimental capabilities in-house and then collaborated with SIMULIA to create 2D and 3D models of many different aspects of managed hydraulic fracturing in rock formations. “By incorporating physically measured input parameters and representing the full physics, rather than just ‘tuning’ models to achieve desired results, we are confident in our validation of these newly co-developed numerical capabilities in Abaqus,” said Dale.
These newly developed modeling capabilities significantly support ExxonMobil’s hydraulic fracturing business, noted Dale. “Avoiding drilling problems reduces costs,” he said. “Managing drilling-related risks means not allowing small issues to become large ones. Advanced 3D modeling enhances our ability to foresee drilling-related problems, such as instability in shales or lost opportunities in sands, and mitigate risks. Modeling also helps us develop innovative recovery schemes to make production more economical.” “The fruits of our collaboration with SIMULIA are numerous,” concluded Dale. “In the coming decades, the world will need to expand energy supplies in a way that is safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible. 3D modeling provides innovative solutions based on the foundations of energy production in the 21st century.”
